


Potential

by AiFlora



Series: Of Love and Hate [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 8th year, Drabble, F/M, Post War, one-sided Draco/Hermione.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-25 01:47:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30081597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AiFlora/pseuds/AiFlora
Summary: The war has been won, and now everyone struggles to find a new sense of normal. Even though the light side won, it is clear that they can’t simply go back to the way things were.Or, where Ron and Hermione break up, so Draco swoops in to get his girl.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Series: Of Love and Hate [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2160222
Comments: 1
Kudos: 28





	Potential

Potions class isn’t the same without professor Snape. The hour feels almost like a charade. It’s as though they’re being graded on who is the most convincing at pretending to be ok, rather than the potions themselves.

Draco knew that this wasn’t actually the case. If it were, Hermione would be failing for the first time in her life. Considering that she’s still top student despite her life very clearly falling apart around her, Hogwarts has decidedly kept it’s old grading system. Unfortunately, that reassurance did nothing to ease his mind.

The 19 year old should-be-graduate closed his eyes and breathed to clear his mind. Pressing into the cool dungeon-like wall behind him served to ground him before his mind could take off. He sat at the back of the class, the golden trio at the front, and a mix of 7th and 8th year Gryffindors and Slytherins filled the space between. It was reassuring to know that the walls were unlikely to hex him, and studying the class served to pass the time. He could recognize the familiar impulse in Harry’s behavior—that he too realizes how precarious a position it was to sit at the very front—but the staunch Gryffindor would rather be hexed than leave his friends’ sides for a more comfortable location.

What was surprising today though, was that class was scheduled to start in two minutes, yet there is a notable lack of Lioness at the front. She was the reason the two idiots sat at the very front, so the fact that they were still stationed there despite a lack of assigned seats suggested they were expecting her. This would have been more reassuring if:

1) they weren’t idiots who couldn’t be trusted not to forget she existed, and

2) If Hermione wasn’t always the first to arrive to every class.

The only time this has ever happened before was when the trio was scheming behind teachers backs to save Hogwarts and the whole Wizarding World. The thought made Draco visibly twitch, and by this point, his anxiety had seeped into the rest of the room. Most of the class did their best to ignore him, but some couldn't resist the urge to sneak glances despite the risk of his ire being shifted onto them.

The teacher walked in right on time, starting the class without even so much as a glance at the students, simply bumbling on about this and that while setting up their books and the lecture board. It served to ease the tension in the rest of the room, but only raised his.

Based on their body language and whispers, it seemed that the daft duo finally caught on that something was wrong. They were finally concerned about their missing friend—well, Harry seemed concerned, but her so-called boyfriend could be overheard dismissing the issue.

Ronald seemed to have somehow fit yet another stick up his ass, and his attitude toward the situation left a multitude of hexes sitting at the tip of Draco’s tongue, begging to be the first to be cast. Harry—seemingly the only Gryffindor that learned any semblance of self preservation from the war—noticeably picked up on the killing intent aimed at their table, and sent Draco a questioning glance. The look was enough to refocus Draco on the problem at hand.

He closed is eyes and took a deep breath, focusing less on his hatred for all that is Weasley, and more on clearing his mind. He pushed thoughts of worse-case scenarios to the back, focusing instead on racking his brain for the best excuse that would allow him to search Hogwarts for her unnoticed. 

The door opened silently, and in stepped the person of focus, completely unharmed physically. Draco found that his lungs were still too constricted to allow him a breath of relief.

“Sorry I’m late professor.” She said calmly, but the whole class could tell there was something very wrong—Her tone was not at all apologetic.

“No worries. Have a seat.” Came the the professor’s lackadaisical response. She refused to meet anyones eyes as she passed her usual spot and continued to walk to the back of the room.

Draco could tell that all her mental power was being directed into keeping her chin up and eyes forward to ignore the fact that everyone’s eyes followed her rather than the lecturer.

Ron could be seen mouthing obscenities as he turned a bright red to rival his hair, despite harry doing his best to provide reason and encourage compassion. Draco would have thought how Harry had actually become a reasonable person after the war, had his brain not short-circuited upon realizing that the woman of his hidden affection would be sitting with him in class today.

He pulled himself together at the sound of her books being added to the empty desk beside him, enjoying what must be the subtle fragrance of her hair product as the air shifted past him to allow for her aggressive plop into the seat.

“Did I miss anything?” She asked, pretending Draco couldn’t see how red and swollen her eyes were from crying, and that she couldn’t see her arse of a boyfriend making a fool out of himself at the front of the classroom.

“We both know you know everything that old coot could teach us.” This apparently isn't what she wanted to here, if the increased glossiness of her eyes was anything to go off of. So he corrected immediately. “But you can look at my notes at the end of class if you want?”

She nodded once and thanked him, before opening her own notebook and attempting to listen.

It was clear to him now, that she’d had a pretty severe lovers quarrel this time. The set in her shoulders and dogged determination not to look at her usual table meant it was very likely they’d finally broken up.

At this realization, Draco met Ron’s eyes and sent him a wink and a smirk.  
  


The next class found Draco pleasantly surprised to see Hermione already at her new desk beside his. Even better for both of them, Ron would be gone from todays class due to being in the infirmary. The boy had confronted him before breakfast, screaming about how the only reason Hermione was sitting with him was because his was the only table with available seating due to him being a worthless traitor scum who should be in Azkaban with his father.

It was the perfect opportunity for the hex Draco had been creating just for him. What made the situation even better though, was that Draco’s hex left no trace, and was assumed to have not worked, which left him the ‘victim’ as he simply dodged and sent back Ron’s hexes until there was an entire crowed watching Ron get hit with his own attacks for the next fifteen minutes.

Ron of course insisted it was Draco’s hex that caused him to throw up slugs at inopportune times, but they were convinced it was one of Ron’s rebounded spells. After all, Draco and all the witnesses claimed that Draco never cast a single spell. They all believed that Ron made up that Draco started it out of jealousy, and simply hoped people would hate him enough to not question it.

In the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey had looked at Draco with pity, and then at Ron with scorn as she passed him back the bucket to catch all the slugs spilling out when he tried to speak. It was clear who’d won.

The slug-vomiting charm was one of Ron’s favorites, and typically lasted for ten minutes. This one, however, was designed to last a day, and it was set to go off every time the boy says something foul. Draco planned on re-hexing him to keep it going for as long as he could. Hopefully it would do the world a favor and finally teach the red-headed heathen to keep his nastiness to himself.

Hermione was once again lost in thought today, but still somehow managed to be taking notes. However, a more careful glance revealed that the notes were not about potions, but rather her own personal dilemma. The bookworm was pulling her strengths to the forefront and writing flow charts to organize her emotions. Draco had no idea if it was intentional or subconscious, as both were reasonable for her.

He felt no shame in peaking at them discretely discretely throughout class, and hide his snooping only to not have her notice and stop. Draco was able to confirm That the two had definitely broken up for good, unlike Ron had suggested before barfing slugs in response to his descriptor unbefitting the beautiful goddess of a woman.

He’d apparently done a number on her confidence though. The woman renowned for her confidence and grit has been struggling with feeling like a failure in both life and her relationship, all because of one selfish jit. Hermione also seemed to have a lot of hang-ups regarding sex. Draco was grateful to get a preview of those in particular, filing them away for when he’d get his chance to be with her

This list continued to develop and become refined in the next several classes to come, the author oblivious to Draco’s prying. the clever girl had a list objectives to become who she wanted to be, and already had boxes checked off as completed. Draco was elated to find that she’d even developed a list depicting her ideal partner, and that it sounded far more like him than Ron or Harry.

He recognized the moment she realized this too. It was a week after she had completed refining her lists, able to focus once again on class and the people around her. Draco saw the sparkle of realization in her eye, and the smiles that were aimed at him from then on.

Draco always smiled back, never hiding how grateful he was to be given the chance to step out of the shadows and into her light.


End file.
